Georgia preschool teachers can earn bonus pay

Thursday

ATLANTA - More than 1,000 preschool teachers across Georgia are getting government bonus checks today for advancing their own education.

About 10 percent more earned the bonus than last year, and state officials predict a 30-percent rise next year in the number of teachers getting the payouts.

The increases are due to a state rule that took effect in December requiring teachers to have specific degrees to instruct the toddlers and pre-kindergarten students. Until now, Georgia has been one of the few states to allow untrained adults in the preschool classrooms.

It represents a change in mission from baby-sitting to instruction, even for the youngest children. The federally funded bonuses are designed to nudge teachers to enhance their professional preparation.

"We think it is incentivizing them because up until this year we have not mandated credentials for working in a child-care center. We have always encouraged them," said Georgia Thomas, federal grants coordinator for the Georgia Department of Early Care & Learning.

Teachers earning a new degree or certificate can garner a bonus ranging from $500 to $2,500, split over two payments. The first installment goes out today for those qualifying in 2012. If they earn another degree, they can get another bonus.

It's only available to teachers paid less than $15 per hour and working at least 25 hours per week. As further incentive, the department offers scholarships for 80 percent of tuition and fees not covered by the HOPE Scholarship and federal Pell Grants.

Thomas said recent reductions in HOPE payments are forcing some teachers to drag out their college courses to minimize expenses.

The government's bonus-and-scholarship offers mesh with efforts the preschool industry has pushed for some time, according to Carolyn Salvador of the Georgia Child Care Association.

walter.jones@morris.com, (404) 589-8424

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